Converting Lawn to Meadow: Design & Management

An increasing area of interest for gardeners and landscape clients is to convert a lawn space into a beautiful native wildflower ecosystem, benefiting insects, pollinators, and humans alike. Robert Graham, Land Steward of New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, will share insights on how to make a thriving wildflower garden. We’ll dive into design considerations, the conversion process, and learnings from New England Botanics’ own managed meadow space. You’ll leave with tools for budgeting, timelines, and realistic management strategies to get the best out of your landscape projects. 

In partnership with the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association, this online lecture, part of the Green Spotlight Series, is designed for landscape and horticulture professionals. This presentation accounts for MELNA 1 recertification credit.

Robert Graham is the Land Steward at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, MA. Since 2017, Robert has been responsible for overseeing all formal groundskeeping as well as management of all naturalistic areas, including meadows, woodlands, and wetlands. Robert earned his BS in Biology from Worcester State University, where he focused on conservation biology and GIS. Robert’s professional portfolio includes successional habitats, native plant ecology, sustainable land management, and green technology for land management. New England Botanic Garden’s adoption of electric landscaping equipment led to the organization’s recognition and award of Green Zone Certification from the American Green Zone Alliance.